Excerpt: Solo pieces for heckelphone (chronological)
by Peter Hurd; reorganized and amended by Holger Hoos, editor-in-chief since 2020
version 2 (1 February 2022)
This collection is based on the catalogue of musical works requiring heckelphone or bass oboe instrumentation assembled by Peter Hurd beginning in 1998. For this new edition, the original version of the repertoire list has been edited for accuracy, completeness and consistency, and it has been extended with a number of newly discovered pieces.
Some entries could not (yet) be rigorously verified for accuracy; these were included nonetheless, to provide leads for future investigation, but are marked clearly. Pieces were selected for inclusion based solely on the use of heckelphone, bass oboe or lupophone, without any attempt at assessing their artistic merit. Arrangements of pieces not originally intended for these instruments were included when there was clear evidence that they had found a significant audience.
We gratefully acknowledge contributions by Crawford Best, Ulrich Brokamp, Michael Finkelman, Francis Firth, Alain Girard, Thomas Hiniker, Robert Howe, Gunther Joppig, Georg Otto Klapproth, Mark Perchanok, Andrew Shreeves and Michael Sluman.
Chadwick, George Whitefield (1854-1931): Für das Heckelphon (Fragment), 1905
Publisher: Heckel-Archiv (ms)
Remarks: a theme of four bars, written for Wilhelm Heckel in June 1905
Duration: 24sec
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Mielenz, Hans (1909-1996): Concerto für Heckelphon und Orchester, op. 60, 1959
Publisher: ms
Remarks: for heckelphone and large orchestra; based on a 12-tone-series; first recording and broadcast in November 1982 by Georg Otto Klapproth (heckelphone) and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie under Reinhard Peters; first live performance on 5 May 1985 in Darmstadt, Germany, by Georg Otto Klapproth (heckelphone) and the Staatstheaterorchester Darmstadt under Hans Drewanz; a version for heckelphone and piano also exists
Duration: 14min
Tags: heckelphone; orchestra, solo, keyboard instrument
Eyser, Eberhard (1932-): Sonatina für Heckelphon, 1968
Publisher: STIM 22153, Stockholm
Duration: 8min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Schulze, Werner (1952-): Heckelphonia, op. 5/2, 1982
Publisher: NÖ Musikedition (NE 22008)
Remarks: for heckelphone solo; dedicated to Alfred Hertel; premiere on 29 August 1982 in Vienna, Austria, by Alfred Hertel
Duration: 6min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Darbellay, Jean-Luc (1946-): Plages, 1985
Publisher: Hug & Co. Musikverlage, Zürich
Remarks: originally for cor anglais or alto saxophone; version for heckelphone solo (2008), premiere on 6 June 2008 in Bern, by Alain Girard; version for lupophone solo (2017)
Duration: 6min
Tags: heckelphone, lupophone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Wolking, Henry (1948-): Concerto for Heckelphone & String Orchestra, 1985
Publisher: Wolking Music Publications
Remarks: commissioned and premiered by Douglas Craig and the Utah Virtuosi
Duration: 12min
Tags: heckelphone; orchestra, solo
Additional information can be found here.
Denhoff, Michael (1955-): Tableaux Sombres, op. 60, 1990
Publisher: Edition Gravis (EG 256)
Remarks: for heckelphone and large orchestra; commissioned by the City of Münster; premiere in 1991 in Münster, Germany, by Georg Otto Klapproth (heckelphone) and Münster Symphonieorchester under W. Humburg
Duration: 21min
Tags: heckelphone; orchestra, solo
Additional information can be found here.
Isaacs, Gregory Sullivan (1947-): Song Without Words, 1992 [?]this entry is only partially verified
Remarks: for cor anglais and orchestra; version for heckelphone authorized by composer; other versions also exist
Duration: 9min
Tags: heckelphone; orchestra, solo
A recording is available here.
Zechlin, Ruth (1926-2007): Briefe an HWH, 1992
Publisher: Musikverlag Zimmermann
Remarks: for solo oboe; "HWH" refers to Hans Werner Henze; #1 & #3 authorized by the composer for heckelphone
Duration: 12min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Grella-Możejko, Piotr (1961-): aa69 (Coloratura for Dennis Prime), 1983-1993 [?]this entry is only partially verified
Remarks: for bassoon or heckelphone
Duration: 12min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Heller, Barbara (1936-): Solo-Album für Holzblasinstrumente (Englischhorn Solo-Album), 1998
Publisher: Furore-Edition (FUE 3250)
Remarks: for cor anglais, flute, recorder, clarinet, oboe, oboe d'amore or heckelphone; dedicated to Julian Singer; premiere 2002 in Bern, Switzerland
Tags: bass oboe, heckelphone; solo
Gardner, James E. (1962-): Charge, 1999
Publisher: Amoris International AI SI 008
Remarks: for a member of the oboe family of instruments; dedicated to Jennifer Paull; premiere in 2000 at the IDRS Conference in Buenos Aires, by Jorge Postel Pavisic; original version 1997 for clarinet
Duration: 2min
Tags: heckelphone, bass oboe, lupophone; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Irving, David (1935-): Quintet for Double Reeds, 2002
Remarks: with heckelphone solo; later adapted for other instruments; premiere on 1 June 2004 in Deal, NJ, USA, by Mark Perchanok and the New York Kammermusiker
Tags: heckelphone; chamber music, solo
Additional information can be found here.
Vereno, Klemens (1957-): Kalenderblatt XXXVI, 2003
Remarks: for heckelphone solo
Duration: 2min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Biriotti, León (1929-): XI Sinfonía concertante, 2004
Publisher: ms
Remarks: for heckelphone and large orchestra
Tags: heckelphone; orchestra, solo
Additional information can be found here.
Kulenoviç, Vuk (1946-2017): Concerto for Heckelphone, 2006 [??]this entry has not (yet) been verified
Tags: heckelphone; orchestra, solo
Richards, Peter (1959-): The Lost Penguin, 2008
Publisher: editiondb 0701002
Remarks: for solo bass oboe or heckelphone; a version for solo cor anglais also exists
Tags: heckelphone, bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Tokke, Justin P. (1990-): Heckel, 2009
Publisher: sheet music available from the composer
Remarks: for solo heckelphone and chamber orchestra
Duration: 5min
Tags: heckelphone; orchestra, solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Winter, Paul (1939-): Miho: Journey to the Mountain (album), 2010
Publisher: Living Music
Remarks: commissioned by the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan; a heckelphone part, played by Paul McCandless, can be heard prominently in "Bendir and Heckelphone"
Duration: 78min
Tags: heckelphone; chamber music, solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Articulations for Heckelphone, op. 175, 2012
Duration: 6min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Staffel, Andreas F. (1965-): In hohem Holz ... und weiter, 2016
Publisher: Edition Anthemion (710181)
Remarks: for oboe solo, oboe d'amore, cor anglais and baritone oboe ... individually or in arbitrary combinations, with arbitrary changes between instruments, with and without interplay; dedicated to Antje Thierbach; premiere on 19 October 2017 in Berlin, Germany, by Antje Thierbach
Duration: 12min
Tags: bass oboe, heckelphone, lupophone; chamber music, solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Montgomery, Christopher (1931-): Valse False, 2017
Remarks: for heckelphone or bassoon
Duration: 2min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Heckelphone Solo, op. 1044, 2018
Duration: 5min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Heckelphone Solo No. 2, op. 1048, 2018
Duration: 5min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Heckelphone Solo No. 3, op. 1052, 2018
Duration: 5min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Heckelphone Sonata, op. 1661, 2019
Duration: 10min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Heckelphone Sonata, op. 1692, 2019
Duration: 7min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Heckelphone Sonata, op. 1696, 2019
Duration: 9min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Heckelphone Sonata, op. 1699, 2019
Duration: 8min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Beatty, Stephen W. (1938-): Solo for Heckelphone, op. 1909, 2020
Duration: 7min
Tags: heckelphone; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Newton, Brett (1982-): Five Miniatures for Oboes, 2021
Remarks: the fifth movement is for bass oboe or heckelphone
Duration: 1min
Tags: bass oboe, heckelphone; solo
A recording is available here.